Love Lies
by anewfoundgloryfades
Summary: Alice Cooper and Hermione Lodge were arch rivals in high school, but had more in common than they think - even today. No amount of duplicity, manipulation, or simple silence could keep their secrets buried forever. The gang is shook by the opening of the new prison...and it's possible first prison break.
1. Author's Note

***~~~AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~***

Hi, guys! Thanks for stopping by! This is my first attempt at a Riverdale fanfiction! Hopefully it's not too wild and crazy. I hereby disclaim the original plot for the show and comics. However, I do own my original character and the non-canon aspects I bring to this story. Okay! Have fun!

 _ **MAIN CAST**_  
 **KJ Apa** as Archibald "Archie" Andrews  
 **Luke Perry** as Frederick "Fred" Andrews  
 **Mädchen Amick** as Alice Cooper  
 **Lili Reinhart** as Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper  
 **Dacre Montgomery** as Charles James "CJ" Cooper  
 **Camila Mendes** as Veronica "Ronnie" Lodge  
 **Marisol Nichols** as Hermione Lodge  
 **Mark Consuelos** as Hiram Lodge  
 **Ana De Armas** as Victoria "Tori" Lodge  
 **Skeet Ulrich** as Forsythe Pendleton "F.P." Jones II  
 **Cole Sprouse** as Forsythe "Jughead" Jones III

 _ **SUPPORTING CAST**_  
 **Madelaine Petsch** as Cheryl Blossom  
 **Vanessa Morgan** as Antoinette "Toni" Topaz

 _ **GUEST APPEARANCE  
**_ **Lochlyn Munro** as Harold "Hal" Cooper  
 **Graham Phillips** as Nicholas "Nick" St. Clair  
 **Liam Hemsworth** as Jeremy "Jerm" Whittaker


	2. 365

A number.

One number.

Three digits, but the digits equal far more time than one would think – or one time that one could take for granted. For some, they simply live one day at a time; living the day as though it may be their last. For others, time gets away from them and before they know it weeks and months have passed and they have no idea what they've done.

365.

Three hundred and sixty five days ago, Archie and the Gang were only sophomores in high school. Their every day lives were not as simple as being teenagers and going to class all day before stopping off at Pop's for a malt, oh no. The Black Hood had roamed the streets of Riverdale, causing mass panic and murdering innocent citizens who he deemed to be the very opposite. Hiram Lodge bought Southside High School in his attempt to take over the small town and rebuild, or in some opinion, rule over the majority. He followed his business venture up with announcing that a prison would be built on top of the school and would bring hundreds of jobs to the town.

There was public outcry.

Citizens worried for their safety, and with good reason.

But that was three hundred and sixty five days ago.


	3. Surprise

"Mija, wake up!" Hermione Lodge said, leaning into her daughter's bedroom. Veronica Lodge raised her head from the plush pillow she laid upon, sighed and then dropped her head back down. "Veronica!"

"Mom! I have my alarm set. Why are you waking me up early?" Hermione entered the room and pulled back the curtains. Veronica all but hissed when the sunlight cascaded into the room.

"Because! I have a surprise for you, but you have…"

"Surprise!" Another voice came from the doorway. Veronica sat straight up and pushed her disheveled black hair out of her face. Her dark brown eyes widened when she saw the curvy girl in the doorway. It'd been too long since she'd seen her, three years, in fact.

"Tori?" Veronica's surprise guest ran across the room and threw herself onto the queen size bed, practically tackling the astonished teen. "When did you get here?"

"About thirty minutes ago. I woke Mom up." Veronica's eyes momentarily shot to her mother, whom was standing in front of the window and watching the two girls with a smile on her face. Tori squeezed Veronica in a hug. "We wanted to keep it a surprise!"

"Well, I'm surprised."

"That's not the surprise," Hermione said with a light laugh.

"Oh. What is?" Veronica's eyes narrowed. "Please tell me you didn't come back in a teenage arranged marriage that Daddy's proposed." The other girl laughed.

"No, Daddy hasn't been able to sell me off yet." She let go of Veronica finally and looked at Hermione before smiling wide again. "I'm spending my senior year here!"

"Really?" Veronica's brows furrowed and she smiled. She was sure that she looked confused. "What happened at Ravenwood?"

"Oh, nothing! I just decided I wanted to spend my senior year with my family and with my sister."

"You two will have such a great time!" Hermione said, sitting on the bed with the girls.

"Of course we will!" Tori said. Veronica smiled.

Three years ago, her sister Victoria, had gotten into the Ravenwood School of Music and Performance Arts. It was a private high school that only elitist children got into and at the time, the Lodge family fell into the category. That wasn't to say that Tori wasn't talented. It was quite the opposite, in fact. She and Veronica both showed promise when it came to performing on stage, it was just that Tori wanted to pursue it full time and Hiram was all for the idea of her going to the school. He was fully supportive, while Hermione worried about her daughter being away from the nest at such a young age.

Of course, it changed a bit when Hiram was incarcerated. Tori was sidelined for a bit, and went through social hell because of her father. Eventually, she had a falling out and decided that taking on senior year at a different school, one not run by such snobbery, would be a better fit for her. If Veronica could transition, so could she. What was one more year?

"Ladies," Hiram said, rubbing his face as he came into the doorway. He did a double take, dropping his hands slowly when he saw Victoria. "Victoria…" Tori looked toward the door and grinned.

"Hi, Daddy!" She hopped off the bed and crossed the room to embrace him. Veronica could still feel the awkwardness between her older sister and her father. All her life, she could never put her finger on what caused them to clash so often. Her mother had said it was because they were so much alike, but Veronica could never see Victoria being such a cold, calculating monster. They were always at odds with one another over something. When Victoria went away to school, it was almost as if Hiram had finally gotten the harmonious one child home he'd seemed to want.

"It's nice to see you, Nenita." Hiram hugged her and she pulled free from him after a moment. "You're here early."

"I caught an earlier flight. I couldn't wait to come home." Hiram smiled.

"Well, since you're here, let's all go get breakfast. Love, Mija. What do you say? Breakfast at Pop's?" He turned his gaze to Hermione and Veronica who looked toward one another and then to him.

"Sure," Veronica said.

"Get dressed!"


	4. Breakfast at Pop's

Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe wasn't too busy on that humid Saturday morning. It wasn't too surprising for Veronica, really. Most teens, she thought, would be sleeping in on their last Saturday before the new school year. Had her family not awoken her, she might have been doing the same thing.

She was walking silently into the diner behind her parents as her sister held onto her arm and jabbered about a subject that she actually lost track of. She wondered if she could meet up with Archie after this, or if he would be busy with his dad. Maybe she could sneak off to see Betty. The two of them hadn't had proper girl time all summer. Veronica hated herself for a moment for thinking of ways to get away from her family, but seeing Victoria again was so sudden. She wasn't sure how the girl would acclimate to Riverdale. And, of course, her parents would probably urge her to introduce her to her friends. Did she want to share her friends? Not really.

"I'm going to use the ladies' room. I'll be with you in a moment," Tori said, unlatching from Veronica's arm and splitting right while her family went left.

"Do you want some juice or something?" Veronica asked. Tori turned her head as she walked, not paying attention to her path. "Tori, look out!" Before the girl could react, her foot collided with an obstacle, sending her toppling forward. Victoria waited to connect with the floor, but instead, her body collided with another. Arms wrapped around her waist and they bumped heads.

"Oh, man!" she thought she heard someone say. Veronica rushed over.

"Archiekins!" Tori turned her head, but kept a death grip on the shoulders of the person holding her upright. She was looking at a group of teens at the table beside her. A redheaded boy shifted in his seat.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to trip you. I shouldn't have had my feet out in the aisle." The redhead boy said, looking at her with furrowed brows. Veronica laid her hand on his shoulder.

"It was my fault. I distracted her." Veronica said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Getting breakfast. We sent you a text." A blond girl said.

"Oh," Veronica proceeded to rummage in her purse for her phone and Victoria finally blinked and looked at the person who seemed content on holding her. Her eyes locked with two pools of clear blue, lined with dark lashes. After an awkward moment, the boy spoke.

"You good, or, you need me to hold you a bit more?" a soft half grin laid on his face. Victoria finally found herself and looked down at the closed space of their bodies and pushed away from him gently.

"Sorry. I'm good. Sorry."

"Oh! Guys, this is my sister. Victoria, these are my friends," Veronica finally said, embracing that it was now or never. She pointed to each person as she introduced them. "This is my boyfriend, Archie. That's Jughead," the boy with the beanie beside Archie nodded at her. "That's my best friend, Betty." Betty smiled and waved. "And that's Betty's brother, CJ." Veronica pointed at the boy standing next to Tori. "Tori will be spending her senior year at Riverdale High."

"It's nice to meet you!" Betty said.

"Are you guys gonna join us?" Archie asked. Veronica kissed his cheek.

"We're gonna eat with our parents, but maybe we could meet up afterwards?" Archie nodded. "Fabulous! See you guys after while!"

"Nice to meet you all," Tori said with a smile. She and CJ went to move from each other and moved the same way. "Sorry." They moved again, the same way. "Oh my god, this is so awkward," she whispered to herself.

"What?" CJ asked, finally sliding into the booth beside Betty to get out of her way.

"Nothing. Thanks. See ya." She scooted quickly toward the bathroom. Veronica shook her head and waved before heading back to the table where her parents were.

* * *

"So I see meeting your friends came quickly," Hiram said with no expression.

"Well, they were here, so why not?" Ronnie said, sitting down in the booth.

"Is she okay? I saw her trip." Hermione asked.

"Yeah, she's okay. CJ saved her from face planting."

"I don't like the way he was looking at her." Hermione and Veronica laughed.

"You said the same thing about Archie and Veronica and now you like Archie." Hermione pointed out. Hiram shook his head.

"I had to work on Archie. I've heard things about CJ. He's a…bad seed."

"Oh, Daddy. It's not like he asked her to marry him right then and there. He stopped her from falling."

"And she's a beautiful girl. Boys are going to look at her."

Victoria exited the restroom and strode by the Gang's table. "See ya guys," she said, heading toward her family's table. She finally slid into the booth next to Veronica. "Do they have waffles here?"

"Of course!" Veronica said.

"Yes!" Victoria picked up the menu and glanced at her father. "What's wrong, Dad?"

"His father was the Black Hood." The women were silent for a moment.

"Hiram, Hermione said with a warning tone.

"What's The Black Hood?" Tori asked. Veronica sighed.

"Can we order please?"

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Daddy's having a moment because CJ was giving you a look." Tori turned in her seat to glance at the table of teens. CJ laughed at something one of the others said, showing a bright, smile that could make any girl swoon – including her. She turned back around.

"So?"

"His father is a serial killer." Victoria just stared at him. "Stay away from him."

"Are we going to do this already?"

"The subject is closed. Now, let's order."

"You are undoubtedly the weirdest man I know."

"Excuse me?"

"Weird is not necessarily a bad thing, Daddy." Veronica said with a laugh. Victoria put down her menu.

"You already seem upset with me. You did at the apartment. Why?"

"I'm not upset with you."

"Then why does it always feel like I've done something wrong? Every time I get around you, I have this strange feeling that you're mad at me."

"I'm not."

"Seriously, can we order now and save this discussion for the Pembrooke?" Veronica asked more sternly. There was silence, then an agreement to just order. However, after ordering, there was more silence.

Hermione tried to keep a conversation going, but both Victoria and Hiram were lost to the cause. Neither felt much like talking and both kept giving each other looks to kill across the table. Veronica was transported right back to the old days. This was exactly how it had always been between her sister and her father, and Victoria was right. Hiram always seemed upset with her, or would find some little thing to twist up and make her upset. The problem was, unlike Hermione or Veronica, Victoria stood up for herself.

After their table was cleared, Victoria stood up.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"For a walk. I'll see you back at home."

"You don't know the town. I'd prefer if you didn't wander off on your own." Hiram said. Tori raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I'll grab CJ and he can escort me." Hiram sat forward and rested his hands on the table. "I have my phone. It's a small town. I'm sure GPS can get me home just fine." Without giving him a chance to say another word, she left.

Veronica and Hermione looked at Hiram.

"Mija, you can go be with your friends now," he said. Veronica bit the inside of her lip.

"Why do you have to be like that toward her? You ruined breakfast, Daddy." She scooted across the seat and out of the booth before going and joining her friends.

"She's right," Hermione said, "you ruined breakfast."

"It was not my intent. I just wanted her to know ahead of time. Aside from seeing how he looked at her, I also saw how she looked at him."

"So what?" Hiram looked at his wife.

"These girls need to steer clear of these Riverdale boys. You should have stopped Archie and Veronica a long time ago." Hermione sighed.

"It's fine."

"It is not fine! Especially now!" his voice was a raised whisper and he paused before collecting himself. He pulled himself out of the seat. "I will see you tonight," and with that, he was gone.


	5. Turning Tables

"Hey," Archie said as slid over so Veronica could join their table. He squished up against Jughead, who didn't protest much as he ate his breakfast. Archie looked around for a moment. "Where's your sister?" Veronica sighed.

"She took a walk. Breakfast didn't go so well."

"Oh."

"Veronica, I didn't even know you had a sister," Jughead said between bites. "You never mentioned her."

"I'm sure I have." They were all silent. "Oh, well, I haven't seen her in three years, and it's been kind of hectic around here. Forgive me," she snapped.

"Where has she been?" Betty asked gently.

"Away at school, in New York. She stayed behind, when we moved here, to finish high school, or so I thought that was the plan. It was an art school." She shrugged. "I guess she changed her mind."

"Maybe she got homesick and missed her family." Betty said with a smile.

"I don't know if that's the complete truth. There's always a blowout with her and my dad. Prime example is this morning."

"What happened?" Archie inquired.

"Honestly, I don't even know." Veronica forced a smile onto her face. "It'll be fine by this evening, I'm sure. Anyway, what's the plan for today, guys?"

"We thought about driving into the city for some of that back to school shopping our parents want us to do," CJ said with a smirk. Veronica laughed.

"I suppose that means that you're going to buy anything but school supplies."

"I need a new drum head." He shrugged. "That counts for music class, doesn't it?" Betty shook her head.

"CJ," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Aw, come on. Mom would say okay if I asked." He sat back in the booth. "I have the truck. Come on guys. Let's go to the city and get out of Riverdale for a day." They each gave each other an inquisitive glance.

"Okay, we're in." Archie finally answered.

"Wait, first. Can we find my sister?" Veronica asked, looking slightly reluctant. "She can come with us." CJ nodded.

"Of course." They all looked at Jughead. He paused his chewing.

"What?"

"Can we get you a to-go box?" Archie asked.

"I'm about done. The pancakes are too soggy now. Pay your bills. I'll be done by the time you're finished."

The kids proceeded to leave the booth slowly and pay for their morning meals as Jughead finished his up. They lingered a bit to wait for him, and when he was finally done, they fled the diner together.

* * *

CJ unlocked his maroon Ford F-150 with its extended cab and the gang piled into the truck, arguing over what music to play. The argument came down to a rock-paper-scissors tournament, as it always did for car rides, and Betty won – choosing an upbeat country station for that particular ride.

"Alright, so text your sister and see where she is," Jughead said. "I don't know how much of this music I can take." Betty elbowed him in the ribs. Veronica typed on her phone and set it in her lap.

"This is a good song. You're such a square, Juggie," Betty said, wrapping her arm around him.

"I don't think she's going to answer. I'm just gonna do a where's your phone track." Veronica said, toying with her phone. CJ laughed.

"FBI much?" he asked.

"Hey, I'm a Lodge! I know a few tricks!"

After a few minutes, she turned the music down for a moment. "It looks like she's in the park." CJ nodded and redirected the truck toward the park.

"I take it you and your sister aren't close?" Archie said. Veronica shrugged a shoulder.

"We could be closer. Relationships get away from you when time gets between you, ya know?" He nodded, but his brows furrowed.

CJ parked the truck and they all climbed out. "Did it show you general location?" Archie asked.

"Not really. Just a marker. Let's split up. We'll find her quicker. She's being stubborn." Veronica huffed and trekked off with Archie. Betty and Jughead split from them and CJ went his own way, as he normally did.

* * *

" _Close enough to start a war…"_ Cj turned his head when he thought he heard a melodic flow of words coming from somewhere to his left. _"All that I have is on the floor…"_ He followed the sound and broke through a line of trees and emerged onto the playground. It was empty, except for Victoria who sat atop the monkey bars, singing loudly, passionately, and in a way that gave him pause. _"God only knows what we're fighting for. All that I say, you always say more. I can't keep up with your turning tables. Under your thumb I can't breathe."_ After a moment, he blinked and moved closer to the bars. Was that voice coming from her?

"Victoria?" He said. Her back was to him, and she didn't acknowledge him, telling him she was singing with music in her earphones.

 _"So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me. No, I won't rescue you to just desert me. I can't give you the heart you think you gave me. It's time to say goodbye to turning tables…to turning tables…"_ He touched her lower back lightly and she jumped. Her head whipped around and she looked down at him. He saw tears in her eyes, but she smiled at him and pulled the earbuds out.

"Hey," Victoria looked forward again and let out a light laugh. "How'd you find me?"

"Veronica is a spy." She nodded.

"That makes sense. She's a Lodge."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Adele, you know. She can make anyone emotional." She watched CJ easily swing himself up onto the bars and settle beside her. He was silent for a moment, watching her. "What?" She pocketed her phone.

"Are you sure? We can talk if you want to. You don't know me, which makes me the perfect person to talk to." Victoria's smile faded.

"I…don't have anything to talk about." CJ nodded.

"Alright. I'm here if you need me." Victoria laughed.

"Thanks?"

"Veronica told us you got into it with your old man." She sighed.

"It's not new. It's just…it hasn't happened in a while and I didn't expect it this morning." She blushed a bit. "It was absolutely absurd."

"Me and my old man never got along. Well, he wasn't really my dad, so I suspect that had a lot to do with it." Victoria stared blankly at him. "I'm not implying that your dad isn't your dad." He laughed.

"No, I know." She bit her lip in a smile. "I was just listening. So the serial killer that was your dad wasn't your real dad?" His face went completely blank then.

"Wait, what?"

"That's why my dad and I got into it about. He told me to stay away from you because your dad was a serial killer or something." They looked at each other for a second then laughed.

"Yeah, no. My last name is Cooper, but Hal Cooper isn't my real dad. My mom forced him to adopt me when they got married. She had me in high school. Rather than cause a defamation scandal to the Cooper family, he accepted her terms and her bastard son and here I am." He shrugged. "No serial killer genes in here. You're safe."

"Good. I was questioning my sanity there for a second."

"What do you mean?" He toyed with the ripped knee of his jeans.

"Thinking the son of a serial killer was super hot."

"Oh." It took him a second, but he paused and looked at her. "You think I'm super hot?"

"Did I say that?" She flipped off of the monkey bars and walked away.

"Wait!" CJ scrambled to hop off of the playground equipment and catch up, but wound up belly flopping onto the ground just as his friends joined them.

"Oh my gosh, CJ! Are you okay?" Betty asked. He stood up quickly and brushed himself off.

"Yeah, I'm cool. I found the missing link!" He motioned to Victoria, who tried to keep a straight face. Veronica looked at her sister.

"Why didn't you answer my text messages?" she asked.

"My music was on. I had it on do not disturb." Tori answered. "So, what's up?"

"We're going into the city. Do you want to come with us?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Sure!" Veronica smiled and grabbed her sister's hand before pulling her along toward CJ's truck.

* * *

 ***~~A/N~~*:** Victoria's voice can be imagined as Bea Miller's in her cover of Adele's "Turning Tables". You can find it on Youtube.


	6. No Teenage Copulation

"We'll be right back, Tori. We're going to find different sizes," Veronica called through the fitting room door to her sister before she pulled Betty along. The girls and boys had split up once they'd arrived into town. The girls wanted to shop for clothes for a bit while the boys wanted to…well, who knew exactly what they wanted. They'd vowed to meet the girls in the boutique an hour later. Each girl loaded up a room with potential purchases and began their own fashion show in the corner of the store.

"I'll be here," Tori answered, though the other two girls were already out of ear shot.

"What do you think of Tori?" Veronica asked Betty when they made it to the rack they were searching for. Betty eyed her friend for a moment, her brow arching in curiosity.

"She's your sister, Veronica."

"I know, but what do you think of her?" She held a top against her torso and Betty shook her head.

"I think she's sweet. She seems easy to get along with." Betty laughed a bit. "Unlike you, at first." Veronica smiled and continued looking through the rack. "Why are you asking?"

"It's just…I never thought Tori would give up art school and come back home. I'm just…baffled I guess. I don't know." She sighed. "I'm not used to my family doing anything surprising without an ulterior motive."

"Tori's that way as well?" Veronica thought for a moment. The moment was longer than usual as they collected more clothes. "Actually, no. Between the two of us, I'd say she was the more down to earth and sweet one in New York. But we ran in different circles mostly."

"Then…maybe you could just give her a chance here. She doesn't seem to be doing anything malicious." Veronica nodded.

"You're right. God, she's my sister. I shouldn't think like this."

* * *

"Abort," Jughead said as soon as they stepped through the door of the boutique. He turned his head and noticed a display of lingerie and a sales woman look his way. Archie laughed and pulled him along. "I can just wait outside."

"Betty might want your opinion on how something looks," he urged.

"Tell her to text me pictures. The sales woman is gonna call the sheriff on me." CJ shook his head.

"She will if you keep acting weird. Calm down. It's just a clothing store. Jeez. How do you even have a girlfriend, Jug?" He and Archie laughed as they headed back toward the fitting rooms, following the text directions Veronica sent them.

"Veronica? Betty?" Tori called from in her room. The boys looked around and then at each other.

"Tori?" Archie asked.

"Uh…Archie?"

"Yeah."

"Do you see my sister or Betty out there?"

"Hang on." The boys looked around for a moment. "No." She opened the fitting room door enough to lean partially out, shielding her body with it.

"Is there a sales lady around?"

"There was one up front, but she was helping someone in lingerie. The other was at the counter contemplating calling the cops on Jughead." Archie laughed toward the end of his sentence as Jughead sat in a chair against the wall between the rooms.

"Great. Can one of you go look for Veronica or Betty? I'm having a wardrobe malfunction and I need help."

"What's wrong?" CJ asked.

"The zipper on these pants is stuck. I don't want to break them, but I can only see so far down."

"Betty said they're in the shoe department," Jughead said, looking at his phone.

"Come on. We'll go get them." Archie nodded at Tori. "Be back in a sec." Archie and Jughead left, and Tori looked at CJ.

"Can…you go find a sales lady?" He stepped toward the door.

"I can get the zipper. If you want me to." She furrowed her brows.

"Are you literally trying to get me out of my pants?" She smirked. CJ smiled.

"In this instance, yes. Do you want me to help you?"

"I can wait for someone." He shrugged.

"Okay. I've had many zipper troubles, so I figured I could help." Tori narrowed her eyes, then sighed.

"Fine. Hold on." She went back into the room and shuffled a bit before opening the door again. "Come on." CJ went into the room and knelt in front of her. "I got it up and then half way down. It's not caught on anything. I checked, so you don't need to check that, player." CJ let out a laugh as he reached for the zipper. Tori raised her shirt up to her bra line, momentarily distracting him as he looked at her toned stomach and the pearl belly ring in her navel. After a moment, she spoke. "CJ…"

"Yeah." He blinked and dropped his eyes to the zipper. "Sorry. The teeth of the zipper are warped." He leaned closer. "Maybe missing?" She shrugged, though as a reflex tried to arch away from his closeness. "I'm surprised you got them zipped."

"It didn't give me a struggle." She thought she heard her sister's voice outside the door. CJ yanked on the zipper causing her hips to twist a bit toward him. He grabbed the sides of her thighs to stabilize her. "Whoa!" she said, grabbing his shoulders as the door opened.

"Tori!" Veronica exclaimed. Victoria and CJ looked over at their friends, who stood looking as shocked as the sales lady behind them.

"What is going on in here?!" the lady asked sternly.

"Uh, well," CJ stood up quickly and Tori pulled her shirt down as far as it would go, and then some.

"The zipper of these pants is stuck, and…" she started.

"Out!" the lady shouted.

"What?"

"There will be no underage copulation in this store! This is a place of business! It is not a trailer park!" She gave side eye at Jughead in his Southside Serpents jacket. Tori's face felt like it was on fire.

"Miss, I assure you," CJ continued.

"I will call the police!"

"Fine! We'll go." Tori said. "Just go ahead outside, everyone. I'll meet you out there." Reluctantly, the teens dispersed as Victoria explained the jeans situation to the woman. Eventually she was free of the defective jeans and back into her own clothes. However, she was forced to buy them and banned from the store, to add insult to injury.

* * *

"That lady was a bitch," Veronica said, her expression showing how upset she was for having gotten kicked out of the store. "She was way out of line!" Tori joined the group as they lingered around CJ's truck outside of the boutique. "Are you okay?"

"She made me buy the pants because I damaged them with my antics." She made air quotes on the word antics. CJ perked up.

"Seriously?" he asked. "Give them to me." He held his hand out and stepped toward her.

"No. Let's just go."

"Tori. She had no right to make you…" Veronica protested beside CJ.

"Let's go." Tori snapped. Veronica lightly shook her head and dismissively waved.

"Alright." They began to pile themselves into the truck, but Tori gently grabbed Betty's forearm.

"Betty." Betty turned her head.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I sit in back, instead of up front with your brother? I really can't…like, look him in the face right now. This was so awkward and embarrassing." Betty gave her a knowing look and nodded.

Once they were in the truck, CJ looked at Betty, then turned his head slightly to look at Tori, who was sitting behind her looking out the window.

"Let's go, CJ." Betty urged. He nodded and put his focus forward.

Back to Riverdale.


	7. Ladies' Lunch

Most of the townspeople slept without even moving that night. It was easy to do once a person accepted the abnormal things (or normal) that went on in Riverdale. Perhaps they were becoming desensitized. But how long did it really take for people to desensitize? Or was the Kingpin that had taken over most of the town just that good at making it appear to be the same sleepy little haven it always had been?

Victoria wouldn't know.

She wouldn't even sleep peacefully that night.

She tossed and turned in the bed that was new to her in a room she had yet to customize to her liking. The rest of the apartment was silent. There were too many thoughts floating around in her head. What would Riverdale High be like? Should she have stayed in New York and grinned and bared everything she'd had to deal with? Her first day in Riverdale had not been spectacular, and Veronica's friends didn't seem that bad, but she had embarrassed them and herself and really…would they be so accepting of her? What would Veronica say about her? Sure, they were sisters, but Veronica could be mean if she wanted to; especially if she didn't want Victoria anywhere near her friends.

Would she and her father ever get along? Would he stop being a big, bad, criminal intimidator to her – his oldest daughter? Would he stop trying to sell her to the highest bidder? Would her mother and sister find out about the last business arrangement? Not from her.

At some point in the night, she made herself sick to her stomach and had to go seek clear soda from the kitchen. The luxurious apartment remained silent and still as she moved through it. Her stomach settled a bit after sipping the soda and she was finally able to fall asleep.

* * *

"Tori." Veronica shook her sister awake. Tori's eyes fluttered open slowly and for a moment, she was incoherent and couldn't remember where she was.

"Veronica?" she asked.

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Why?" Veronica motioned over her shoulder. It was brightly lit in the room from the sunlight outside.

"It's almost noon. Betty invited us over for lunch. Do you want to go with me?" Tori took a moment to regain her bearings. She nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Let me get up and get moving." Veronica smiled.

"No worries. I just got out of the shower, so I still have to get ready." Victoria sat up in bed and rubbed her face.

"I need a shower too."

"Have a rough time sleeping?"

"A bit. New place."

"Gotcha. I understand." Veronica lightly smacked Tori in the face with a pillow. "We're gonna have fun today. I promise." Victoria lazily smiled and nodded, watching her sister exit the room. "Oh!" Veronica turned around and came back into the room. "CJ sent me a text to check on you. He wanted to know if you were okay and to tell you he was sorry if he made you upset or anything yesterday, since he doesn't have your number." Victoria just looked at her. "I told him to add your social media and message you, but you don't have your pages anymore. I hadn't even noticed. Why did you delete them?"

"Just felt like it," she said with a shrug.

"Victoria…"

"Veronica," they both looked toward the door where their father was standing. "Victoria."

"Daddy," Veronica said with a smile.

"Father," Victoria said. He all but rolled his eyes at her.

"What are my girls up to today?"

"Betty invited us over for a ladies lunch." Veronica answered.

"In Riverdale, right?"

"Yes. We're not going to the city today." Victoria sighed and dropped herself back onto the bed.

"Victoria, there's an envelope on the foyer table for you."

"What is it?"

"Your refund from the boutique." Victoria sat up again. "Your mother handled it."

"That wasn't necessary."

"The sales associate was in the wrong. You weren't." He smiled. "Have fun today, girls." He walked away. The girls looked at each other.

"Well, at least you got your money back." Veronica said with a smile before she left the room.

"Yeah," Victoria muttered pulling herself from her bed to get ready for her ladies lunch.

* * *

"Come in!" Betty said, ushering the Lodge girls into her house. She closed the door behind them and walked with them into the living room. Her mother came through and paused.

"Hello, Veronica." Alice Cooper always had a bit of contempt in her voice when she spoke to Veronica. She eyed the girl next to her.

"Mrs. Cooper. This is my sister, Victoria." Victoria held her hand out and Alice shook it.

"Sister? I never knew you had a sister." She studied the pair for a moment. "You don't look much alike."

"We favor opposite sides of the family." Veronica stated. Alice smiled.

"So it would appear. Nice to meet you." She looked at Betty. "I'll be back this evening. Tell your brother to cut the grass before it gets dark." Betty nodded.

"Bye, Mom." Alice left and Betty looked at the girls.

"Shall we?" They nodded and gathered at the dining room table.

"Oh, Betty. This is so cute!" Veronica exclaimed. Victoria smiled.

"It's posh, I love it!" Victoria said. The girls sat down, just as three rowdy boys in basketball shorts broke through the front door chattering loudly at one another. The girls looked toward them, Betty rolling her eyes.

"Hey! Get out!" She shouted. The boys nearly fell over another at the sudden outburst.

"Oooh. I forgot your ladies lunch," CJ said, smiling.

"I hate you, Charles." Jughead came to the table and looked at the spread.

"What did you make, Betty?" he asked, reaching for the main dish. She slapped his hand away.

"Waldorf chicken salad and olive oil bruschetta."

"What is bruschetta?"

"A fancy word for bread." CJ answered.

"What are you guys even doing in here? I thought you were playing basketball at Archie's."

"We were. But Mom told me my snare came today, so I came to get it." CJ locked eyes with Victoria for a moment. Her eyes moved down his naked torso and he self-consciously looked down at himself, thinking there was something alarming about him. However, upon finding nothing and glancing back at Victoria to see her looking toward Betty's general direction and blushing, he caught on and bit back a smile.

Meanwhile, Archie leaned over to kiss Veronica, who happily accepted the motion.

"You guys are disgusting." Jughead joked. In a flash movement, he grabbed a piece of the bruschetta and jumped away from the table.

"Jughead!" Betty shouted.

"I just wanted to try it. I'm starving." He ate the bread and looked at all of them who seemed to be watching him for a reaction. "It's…just fancy cut toast." Archie and CJ laughed. Betty gave him a death glare. "Good toast. It's good. Great job, babe."

"Get out and leave us alone."

"Okay! We're going!" CJ said, pulling his friends along up the stairs. He waved, though his eyes were on Victoria.

"Idiots. I told him not to come over here right now so we could have girl time."

"It was an excuse," Veronica said. Betty started plating the food for them.

"I know. He likes you, Victoria." Victoria looked between the two of them.

"Ew, why?" she asked, taking a plate from her new blonde friend. The girls laughed.

"What do you mean ew? You don't think CJ is cute?" Her sister asked.

"I meant, ew why would he like me?"

"Have you seen you?" Betty asked. "You're gorgeous." Victoria shook her head.

"Thanks, but I'm not." Betty and Veronica traded glances.

"Did you have a boyfriend back at school?" The boys came barreling back down the stairs and through the house before disappearing through the front door again. The girls were silent for a moment.

"What happened with Jeremy?" Veronica asked. Victoria shifted uncomfortably in the chair as they ate.

"We broke up a while ago."

"Oh. How come?"

"He cheated on me." Veronica made a face.

"Excuse me?" Victoria looked at her. "He cheated on _my_ sister? I suppose Nick introduced him to the side slut." Tori shrugged.

"Nick? Nick St. Clair? The one that was here?" Betty asked. Veronica nodded.

"It wasn't working anyway, so good riddance." Victoria stated.

"You haven't dated since then?" Betty asked.

"No." She was thoughtful for a moment. "How long have you guys been together with your boyfriends?"

"I've been with Jughead a little over a year." Betty said with a smile. Veronica smiled

"Archie and I are almost at the two year mark."

"That's great!" Victoria smiled. "Hey, why is his name Jughead?" Betty and Veronica laughed.

"It's just a nickname. His real name is a family name. Forsythe." Tori nodded.

"Say no more." The girls chatted for close to an hour over their food and tea. They cleaned up the table and made their way outside and over to Archie's to crash the boys' get-together.

* * *

"Miss us too much?" Archie asked as the girls entered the garage.

"Well, I won't speak for them, but yes. I always miss my Archiekins." She neared the redhead and wrapped her arms around him. Victoria scrunched her nose and paused by the drum set.

"Ugh. Jughead was right. You two are disgusting." There was shared laughter as she looked around. "Are you guys a band?" She said with excitement.

"Archie and I are. Kind of." CJ answered, sitting at the drums. Archie strummed his guitar. "Jughead just films our covers most of the time. The girls sing with us sometimes."

"Veronica has her own band." Archie said. Victoria looked at her sister.

"Veronica and the Pussycats." Veronica said.

"What?! That's awesome!"

"Can you play any instruments?" Archie asked. Victoria nodded.

"Piano. And drums."

"You can play the drums?" CJ asked. She nodded again and he handed his sticks to her.

"What…are you doing?"

"Play something for us."

"What? Now?" He laughed and got up off of the stool.

"Yeah, now."

"Well, I mean, it's been a while."

"It's just like riding a bike." Hesitantly, she moved in front of him as he moved around the set and let her sit down. She scanned the room for a moment, thinking of what to play before she started tapping and banging the drums in a rhythm.

"Gaga!" Veronica shouted, taking out her phone and filming her sister. She sang along with Betty to the drumming of "Applause". Archie and CJ traded glances. After another minute or so, Tori ended the song and flipped the drumsticks back to CJ. "I so posted that!"

"What?" Victoria laughed, standing up and moving away from the drums.

"On Snapchat."

"Oh."

"Where'd you learn how to play the drums?" CJ asked.

"My ex-boyfriend taught me. He was a drummer." His face slightly fell.

"You're a better drummer than he is, CJ." Veronica encouraged. "His band is terrible." Victoria pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time.

"Well, guys. I'd love to stay and hang out, but I want to work on my room a bit today so I feel a bit more settled before school tomorrow."

"You're leaving?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to hang out." She smiled. "Thanks for the invite for lunch, Betty. It was fantastic."

"Anytime! See you at school tomorrow." Betty said with a grin.

"You bet." Victoria turned to exit the garage, but CJ was standing in her path. She looked up at him.

"Need a ride home?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks." She softly smiled. "Thanks for letting me play your drums. See ya at school." Tori moved around him and out of the garage.


	8. Revival

"Hey, Nena. I thought you were with Veronica and Betty this afternoon." Hermione said as she paused in the doorway to Victoria's room. Victoria looked over her shoulder from where she was hanging a series of wall art over her bed.

"I was, but I wanted to customize my room a bit so I can sleep tonight. You know I don't sleep well in new places. I couldn't sleep hardly last night and I don't want to be a zombie tomorrow at school." Hermione was thoughtful before she came into the room and closed the door behind her. She climbed on the bed to help her daughter finish hanging the pictures and then the two of them hopped down to check the accuracy of the placement. "Looks great! Thanks."

"You're welcome." Her mother paused, "Vic, is there anything you want to talk about?" Victoria looked quizzically at her mother.

"No…is there anything you want to talk about?"

"I just mean…I know you said you wanted to come home because you missed us and you wanted to try public school and everything. I'm over the moon that you're home, but…nothing else happened at Ravenwood, did it?" For a moment, the room was silent. A mother was worried about her daughter. A daughter wondered why her mother doubted her reasons to come home – albeit, there may have been more complex motives behind her move to Riverdale, but she wasn't ready to confess.

"Like what?" Hermione shrugged. Victoria smiled. "No. I just wanted senior year to be more fun, and I wanted to be home." Her mother smiled softly.

"Alright. You can always come to me with anything. You know that."

"I know, mama."

* * *

It was a beautiful sunset that night and Victoria was lucky enough to see it from her bedroom window. She sat in the window seat, having finished her room just as she heard Veronica come in the door and call to their mother. However, as the sun disappeared from the sky and her sister carried on with her own business, Tori's eyes shifted to the phone in her hand. Dare she reactivate her social media pages and carry on as a normal teen as she starts a new year in Riverdale? Memories were stored on those pages and it was easy to communicate with people through them…but she'd have to do a serious overhaul to avoid anything having to do with Ravenwood. She didn't have one friend left there…

"Tori." Veronica's voice startled her and she turned her head quickly to look toward her sister.

"Yeah?"

"You okay? Why are you looking at your phone like that?"

"Oh. Trying to decide whether I want to remake Snapchat or not." Veronica smiled.

"Of course! We can snap back and forth! Do it!" she sat down beside her sister. "Do it and we'll snap your first comeback story together!" Tori laughed and nodded.

"Okay. Hold on." Victoria proceeded with the motions and Veronica looked around the room.

"You did a great job in here. I like it!"

"Thanks. I feel much better now that it looks like an actually bedroom." After another moment, Tori scooted closer to Veronica. "Alright. Let's do this."

Veronica took the phone and turned the camera toward them. It was only a few seconds before the girls started filming themselves and giggling. They lost count of how many times they snapped strange clips. Veronica tagged herself in all of them and then took the liberty of texting her friends to tell them to add Tori's snap or else. Victoria laughed and shook her head as the two of them continued to talk about the upcoming school day.

Her sister was very forthcoming with what she could expect, but Victoria was no stranger to the high school norms. Thank goodness this was her last year, but at least this year, there would be no pressure to be the best at EVERYTHING.

Or would there?


	9. Comedown

"Tori! Are you up?!" Veronica said through the closed bedroom door. Victoria halted her hand, as it had started drawing her eyeliner.

"Girl, I've been up."

"Oh. Okay. Just making sure. Carry on." Tori laughed and finished her winged eyeliner before proceeding through her makeup routine. Surprisingly, she'd slept fine the night before. First day butterflies had not come just yet and she was still waiting for them. Breakfast had gone down smooth and she was happy as she'd showered that morning.

Her phone beeped, interrupting the subtle music she had playing and she looked down at it. Curious about having a new Snap from CJ, she felt a smile spread onto her face as she opened it.

"Is it weird that I kind of can't wait to see you at school?" he said in the snap. A moment later another snap came through. She opened it. "Ah, crap. You played it. Okay, yeah, it's weird. Sorry. It's cool if you avoid me completely." Victoria had to laugh at the slightly panicked look on his face in the clip. Despite not having finished her hair, she filmed her own snap.

"CJ, is it weird that I kind of can't wait to see you either?" She played back her snap and scoffed at her slightly damp disheveled hair, but clicked too fast to delete it before it was sent in reply. She snapped again before he could reply. "Don't look at my hideous hair." Rolling her eyes at herself, she set her phone back down on the vanity and worked on her hair. Not a minute later, her phone beeped again. Tori all but threw her flat iron down to pick it up and view CJ's snap.

He shook his head, looked away from the camera, smiled, bit his lip slightly and then looked at the camera. All of these motions were swift and naturally charismatic, she could tell. She wondered if he knew how to use these moves to flirt. He had to. "Stop. You're fucking gorgeous. I'll see you at school." All the awkwardness over the weekend had dissipated. She couldn't figure out why she had felt so weird around Veronica's friends. It might have been because they seemed to not even know she had a sister, but they all were pretty accepting of her, so Victoria was growing quickly fond of them.

A knock at the door startled her and she set the phone down. "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" her father asked. Victoria turned sideways on her stool and picked up her flat iron.

"Yes." Hiram came in and smiled.

"Morning."

"Morning, Dad. What's up?"

"I have something for you." She looked at him blankly for a moment.

"Me?"

"Yes, Nenita."

"What is it?" He held out a jewelry box; one that would hold a necklace and Victoria barely flinched. Normally, he bought the women jewelry because he had done something he needed to apologize for. This also wasn't anything new with him. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted you to have something nice to wear on your first day."

"Are you saying I don't have nice things to wear?" She thought she saw tension roll through his expression, but he laughed and shook his head.

"No. Of course not. Just open it, please, Tori." _That_ was new. He _never_ called her Tori. She laid the flat iron down again and took the Tiffany's box from him. She opened it to find a sterling silver necklace inside with a matching music note pendant on it. "I don't want you to stop practicing your music even though you're not attending Ravenwood."

"I won't," she took the necklace out of the box.

"No pressure. I know now you have more freedom for your own style and I want this to remind you of that." She finally smiled and looked up at him. For once, she felt like he was being genuine with her.

"Thank you, Daddy." She stood up to hug him. He hugged her back, though only for a moment.

"Okay. Hurry up. You don't want to be late on the first day." He let her go and disappeared from the room.

"Tori!" She heard Veronica call from down the hall.

"I'm almost ready!" Victoria hated rushing, but it appeared that her father's impromptu bonding moment had set her back a few minutes.

"I'm out of tampons!"

"I did not need to hear that." Hiram called. Victoria laughed and shook her head. It was already shaping up to be an interesting morning.

* * *

"Bye Xander," Veronica called to their new driver as the two of them exited their town car in front of Riverdale High. Victoria looked up at the building and then around at the teens walking around. It was just as she suspected: nothing abnormal. "Ready?" Veronica said to her sister.

"Yep."

"You nervous?" Victoria shook her head.

"Nah." Veronica smiled and linked arms with her sister.

"Let's go." The Lodge sisters walked confidently into Riverdale High, but not without being the focal attention of a few onlookers wondering who Veronica Lodge was bringing into the mix. Soon, no doubt, the whole school would know who Victoria Lodge was – if they hadn't heard around town already that the eldest daughter had arrived. Most would be curious about her, especially since Veronica had never mentioned her.

"Ronnie!" Archie called, running up behind the duo and resting his arm around Veronica's shoulders. "Hey, Tori."

"Hi Archie." Tori said. Veronica let go of her sister to hug her boyfriend.

"Did you guys get your schedules already?"

"Yeah, we just came out of the guidance office." Veronica said, handing Archie her schedule. He read over it for a moment.

"Sweet! We've got Calculus and American History together." Veronica grinned. "Do you guys have any classes together?"

"Not this semester. We're gonna try to pick the same elective and hope for the best next semester. We have the same lunch period though."

"Oh, right. You're a year ahead, Tori. I forgot." Victoria nodded. "Let's go see if the others are in the lounge."

"They probably are. Jughead probably hit the breakfast bar." Victoria laughed.

"There's a lounge and breakfast bar?" she asked.

"Well, it's like a common room and they put muffins and fruit and stuff out for snacks." Archie explained. She nodded.

"Gotcha." They trio trekked to the slightly buzzing lounge where they indeed found their friends.

"Good morning!" Veronica said boisterously. Betty, Jughead, CJ, and another boy in a letter jacket looked at the three of them from where they sat spread out on sofas.

"Morning!" Betty chimed back. She slid over and Archie sat down beside her. Veronica perched on the arm of the sofa. "Tori! I love that skirt!" Victoria felt like all eyes fell on her in that moment. She wore a cap sleeved black top, tucked into a maroon leather pencil skirt that laced at the top. She only accessorized with black heels and the necklace that her dad gave her, and wore her honey brown hair straight.

"Oh, thanks!" Victoria said.

"Who is this?" the unfamiliar boy asked, raking his eyes up and down Victoria's form. CJ looked at the boy from his seat on the back on the second sofa.

"This is my sister, Victoria. Tori, this is Reggie Mantle."

"Hi, Reggie." Victoria said. Reggie smiled.

"Sup, girl?" Tori traded glances with CJ, who seemed to have his jaw clenched in aggravation.

"Uh…not much…"

"I didn't know Veronica had a sister. I'm pleasantly surprised."

"Why is that?"

"Victoria, do you want a muffin?" Jughead asked before Reggie could open his mouth again. Tori's attention was drawn away from the boy hitting on her.

"Oh, um, no thanks Jughead. I ate breakfast already."

"So? What about second breakfast?" She stared at him blankly for a second before laughing.

"Oh, are we hobbits?" A grin broke onto Jughead's face and he pointed toward her.

"Sorry, Arch. I have a new best friend." Archie laughed.

"You act like I'd be offended or something." A round of laughter was had. Tori looked toward Veronica.

"Can you show me where my locker is?"

"I will." CJ volunteered, stepping off the sofa. Victoria looked up at him as he stepped toward her. She bit back a smile.

"Alright." He held his elbow out for her and she took hold before he escorted her out of the lounge. Reggie looked both jealous and baffled.

"Do they know each other?" he asked. Veronica smiled.

"Tori got to meet these guys over the weekend."

"Oh."

* * *

"You look amazing today," CJ said as they walked through the hall.

"Yeah? Apparently so do you."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at all the ladies checking you out." She motioned to the looks they were getting as they strolled.

"No. They're jealous that you're prettier than all of them." Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Stop that."

"It's true." She looked up at him. He looked down at her out of the side of his eyes and smiled.

"Don't be a cheeseball." He covered his face with his hand for a moment.

"Okay. Sorry. What number were you assigned?" She looked at her paper.

"H14."

"Oh my gosh." He suddenly seemed incredibly concerned. Victoria stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"That's two down from mine." He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes.

"You're an idiot."

"Can I see your schedule?"

"Are you going to stalk me?"

"Probably." She handed him the paper. After a moment he handed it back.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Do we have any classes together?" He shrugged and stopped at her locker.

"Yeah." She looked at him expectantly. "This is your locker."

"What classes do we have together?"

"The lock might stick a little so give it a little tug."

"Are you ignoring me?" He kissed her hand.

"I've gotta go talk to Coach before homeroom." Coach? Victoria was taken aback for a moment. She hadn't even noticed that he was also wearing a blue and yellow letter jacket; just as Reggie and Archie had been.

"CJ!" He smiled and let go of her hand before bounding off down the hallway. She sighed when he was out of sight and turned to focus her attention on her locker, but was met by a vibrant redhead with even brighter red lipstick. "Hi…"

"Hi! I'm Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale's resident IT girl and the only person to truly give you the need to know deets about Riverdale High." She smiled. "I was assigned to show you around, so dump your notebooks and try to keep up, newbie."


	10. Hit or Miss

How long had she been following the tenacious redhead around? Cheryl had told her to keep up and by God, Victoria had tried, but the girl talked so fast to both her and people they were passing that it was hard to latch on to things she was supposed to retain. After so long, her mind wandered and she barely heard Cheryl anymore.

"Victoria. Are you listening?" The brunette turned her head and nodded.

"Yes, Cheryl," she lied as the bell rang.

"Great! This is your first class. You'll find your way the rest of the day I assume." Victoria nodded. "I also assume you'll be trying out for the River Vixens since your sister is on the team." The contempt in Cheryl's voice was as evident as the disdain on her porcelain face.

"What is a River Vixen?" She received a bewildered look.

"Only Riverdale's finest team of cheerleaders! Not to mention the best looking girls in school, led by yours truly." Victoria shook her head.

"Oh, no. I don't cheer."

"Aren't you and Charles Cooper…?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?" She paused. "Oh, cheerleaders and athletes. I get it." Victoria smirked. "No. I've been there and done that. I'm not interested. Thanks though." With a glance toward her classroom, she gave a wave to Cheryl. "Thanks for the tour."

Victoria parted from Cheryl and walked into a half filled classroom; one equipped for science experiments. Her experience with the redhead left her a bit confused as the girl was a bit hard to read, even for being a self-proclaimed Queen Bee. Of course, that was probably a good thing. She could surely get the lowdown about Cheryl Blossom from Veronica later.

"PSSST," she heard to her left. Tori turned her head and spied CJ at one of the tables. He motioned her over and she hesitated. The odds of him being a distraction for her were pretty good if not one hundred percent, but she was moving toward the table before she could really make a sane decision.

"I'm not sure I should sit beside you," yet she did anyway.

"Why?"

"Let's be real. How much work are we actually going to get done?" He let out a chuckle.

"More than you think. Mr. Hayes is a hard-ass. We won't be able to talk when he's teaching."

"Is that so?"

"That's what one of my buddies said last year." Victoria nodded. "How was your Cheryl Blossom Tour?"

"How'd you know she gave me a tour?"

"She gives all of the transplant student tours. I think it's her way of trying to be nosy about them before anyone else."

"Oh. Well, she was…interesting. She talked a lot; and fast. She's really pretty and fashionable though." CJ stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"Am I barkin' up the wrong tree?" Tori quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He leaned toward her for a moment.

"You know, we were all…gettin' on pretty well and then you're all basically like Cheryl's hot…" Victoria let out a laugh that startled a trio of nearby students. The last bell rang and the last of the students ran into the room as Mr. Hayes stood up.

"That's not what I said."

"Well, then am I?"

"Good Morning, class. Give me silence, please." Mr. Hayes said. CJ rested his hand over his face for a moment in a defeated fashion and Victoria tried not to laugh as she set her attention on her teacher. Her right hand tapped CJ's thigh and then rested there for a moment. He looked down at it.

"You're doing fine," she whispered.

* * *

The rest of the morning, Victoria was CJ free, having no other classes with him. She was slightly bummed seeing as how she didn't know any other seniors, but it was only the first day. The lunch bell rang and she was too eager to go see her sister and their shared friends, but on her way, she passed the music room. It called to her, and she had to back up.

After peering inside and finding it empty, she stepped through the doorway and approached the piano inside. She hadn't even gotten her keyboard out at the apartment, let alone played it since packing it up and moving. Where was the music teacher, she wondered? Was there a music club? Was there a chorus?

Victoria set her backpack on the floor and sat down on the bench, lightly tapping the keys. For a moment, she thought back to the last recital she'd done at school in New York. It had been so horrible. The memory of it brought tears to her eyes. Why had she let it happen? _"I can fake a smile. I can force a laugh."_ She pressed the keys to the song that caused her pain _. "I can dance and play the part. If that's what you ask; give you all I am…"_

" _I can do it. I can do it. I can do it…"_ Archie and Jughead paused silently in the doorway to listen; Archie more so, seeing as how he shared a musical interest with Victoria. _"But I'm only human. And I bleed when I fall down. I'm only human. And I crash and I break down. Your words in my head, knives in my heart. You build me up and then I fall apart. 'Cause I'm only human."_

Victoria stopped and opened her eyes, before wiping away stray tears that slid down her cheeks. After realizing the moment seemed to be too private for them, Archie nodded Jughead out and the two of them disappeared before they were seen. Taking a few centering breaths, Tori regained her composure and collected her bag. Her stomach growled as she exited the room and roamed toward the cafeteria.

"Hey, Victoria!" Jughead called from the cafeteria entrance. He waved her over to the food line where he and Archie were getting their lunch.

"Hey guys! How's the first day of school going for you?" she asked with a flushed smile.

"Pretty good. How about yours? You like Riverdale High so far?" Archie asked.

"It's not too bad." Jughead handed her a tray.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Uh…yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Can you help me with a song I wrote?" She was thoughtful as she grabbed food and put it on her tray.

"What do you mean help you?"

"Well, you said you can play the piano, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I…kind of wrote a song for Veronica and I have some music written. But, I wrote it with my guitar and I want to play it on the piano. Will you help me learn how to play it on the piano?" Jughead smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Still, so disgusting," he said. Victoria grinned.

"I think it's sweet! Of course I'll help you."

"Wait, really?" Archie asked.

"Yes, really."

"Yes! Awesome! Thank you! But, we can't let Ronnie know."

"Well, of course not." Jughead led the three of them outside to a cluster of tables to eat at.

"Tori! How's it going?" Betty asked, turning her attention away from Veronica.

"Good. How are you ladies getting along today?" Tori sat down.

"Well, I have Mr. Hayes for Biology and he basically hates me." Veronica said with a pout.

"Why?"

"What'd you do to him?" Jughead asked.

"Why is it my fault?" Veronica asked, her eyes moving upward above Tori. A flower was presented in front of Victoria's face and she leaned back momentarily to focus on it before looking up to see CJ smiling down at her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the flower.

"Are you trying to seduce my sister?" CJ nodded.

"Possibly, but I have to press pause. I was paged to the parking lot. Someone's trying to tow my truck," he said.

"And you stopped to give me a flower?" Tori asked.

"Yes."

"Wait! Why is someone trying to tow the truck?" Betty asked.

"I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out." He ran off, leaving Betty with a confused look on her face.

"Maybe he parked in a teacher's spot." Jughead suggested.

"Maybe he parked in Mr. Hayes' spot." Veronica said.

"Vixens! Practice after school. Don't be late!" Cheryl squawked as she walked by. Veronica gasped and smiled at her sister.

"I already told her no, Veronica." Tori said in between bites of her food.

"Why?!"

"I don't want to be a cheerleader."

"Why not?"

"Because I've already had that experience. I don't want to do that during my senior year."

"Alright. I'll leave it alone."

The teens chatted and ate for several minutes before an agitated CJ rejoined them.

"What happened, CJ?" Betty asked.

"They towed it because it was in Dad's name and of course, it's defaulted on payments. I guess Mom hasn't been using the money I've been giving her to pay on it. I called her but she didn't answer." He shook his head. "Ugh, I'm so pissed right now."

"We'll take you home today, guys," Veronica said.

"You can take Betty, I'm gonna go home late. After practice and everything." Tori cautiously reached to touch his jacket-clad arm.

"Are you sure?" He seemed to coldly flinch away from her. Tori snatched her hand back immediately.

"Yeah, it's cool. Thanks." CJ looked toward Jughead. "Take a walk with me Jug?" Jughead nodded, kissed Betty goodbye and trekked off with CJ. Veronica studied Victoria for a moment.

"He's just upset, Tori," she said. Tori looked up from her tray.

"Huh?"

"He didn't mean it."

"Mean what? What are you talking about?"

"To blow you off like that. He's just upset." Tori bit her lip.

"It's fine. You don't have to explain things to me, Veronica. I know how to handle people and their emotions. I don't need excuses."

"I was just…" Tori got up and walked away with her tray. Veronica looked between Betty and Archie. "Well, I'd say they were a match made in heaven, guys."


	11. Snow White Queen

"I think to celebrate our first successful week of school, we should have a little get-together here at the Pembrooke. Cater some food, maybe watch a movie. Play a game. What do you think, Tor?" Veronica asked as the two of them sat at the dining room table that Saturday morning. She slid her finger across the screen of her phone, already indicating that she was setting her plans in motion for that evening.

"Sounds cool." Tori said in between bites of fruit. Veronica paused and looked toward her sister.

"There was no enthusiasm in that answer, what so ever." Victoria shrugged.

"I just had my first week of senior year in a new place and I'm still trying to get settled in here with mom and dad. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not forever excited about everything, Veronica." Veronica's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Is everything okay? Did you and CJ make up?" Tori sighed.

"Okay, look. I get it. He's the odd man out in your group and here I am. Boom! New couple alert. Yes, I think he's cute and he seems like a sweet guy, but I've been here for a week. I feel like you're trying to push me into something or everyone is just, like, expecting it to happen."

"No, we've all just observed your organic chemistry."

"Organic…chemistry…" Victoria smiled lazily. "That's a new one."

"CJ had been unlucky in love too. I don't know everything that went on with Jeremy and you, but I know that you and CJ seem to be a hundred times better matched than you and Jerm ever were."

"Well, to be fair, our fathers matched us up, so there's that," Victoria said rudely. Veronica nodded.

"I know." She grabbed hold of Victoria's hand lightly. "But look! You're here, you're single and you can commit or not commit to whoever you want! You're allowed to have fun Victoria. Let yourself." Tori was hesitant to give in to her sister, but the point was valid and it didn't even have to reference her relationship status. It was a general take away statement.

"Alright."

"What are my beauties up to this morning?" Hermione said, crossing into the dining room and sitting down at the table.

"Planning a party for tonight," Veronica stated.

"A party?"

"Just a little get-together with our friends to celebrate getting through the first week of school."

"Where will you be having this party?"

"Here. That's okay, isn't it?" The two teens gazed inquisitively at their mother, who sat back in her high back dining chair.

"Possibly, if you have it down in the pool room. Your father is having a dinner meeting with his investors and legal team this evening."

"Here?" Victoria asked with some alarm in her tone.

"Yes. It's just to discuss the direction of the new prison. I'd rather you kids not be in the apartment. They will be tucked away in the office, but even so."

"Why is he having it here?" Veronica asked.

"Why shouldn't he? We're all friends." Veronica looked toward Victoria who seemed unreadable at the moment. "But yes, you may have your party down in the pool room as long as you clean up after yourselves." Veronica smiled.

"Thanks." She stood up from the table. "Tori! Let's go plan this party!" Tori nodded and robotically pushed herself up from the table to follow her sister through the luxurious apartment. At that moment, she didn't feel much like partying.

* * *

It was still a mystery to the young girl how her father could just brush off what was done to her; granted he was "supposedly in a tough spot" when she'd went to confess to him. However, he was always so quick to preach about family first and protecting his own, and yet he had been hesitant with her situation. It still haunted her and was the very cause of the friction between her and her father. She dare not tell her mother, out of fear of what the older woman might do. She dare not tell her sister out of fear of breaking her heart or causing a rift between the two of them considering part of her trouble branched out to Veronica and now Victoria knew it.

"Tori?" The voice was accompanied by a hand on her shoulder and she practically jumped away with a scream from the person beckoning to her. "Whoa, whoa! It's just me." Once she realized she was looking at CJ, she inhaled and hugged him tightly to her. He was taken a bit by surprise, but after a moment, wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. You just startled me."

"Well, I mean, I see how that could happen. You're standing outside of this creepy ass prison all by yourself." She finally let him go, but his hands rested on her waist as they talked. "What are you doing down here all alone?" She glanced back up at the new Riverdale prison. There was no movement around it, though it was fully operational and currently housing inmates.

"I just wanted to see the prison." He looked up at it then as well. She turned her gaze back on him. "What are you doing down here?" Victoria finally looked beyond him and saw a truck with two other males in the cab. It waited across the street, and she was sure one of the males was Jughead.

"Coming back from the junkyard with Jug and FP. We're on our way to your place for your sister's party. Need a lift?"

"Who is FP?" The two of them turned the way of the truck and CJ grabbed Tori's hand to lead her toward it.

"Jughead's dad."

"Oh." He opened the door for her and she slid into the cab beside Jughead. "Hi, Jughead."

"Hey. You okay?" he asked as she was forced against his side when CJ squeezed into the cab.

"Yeah. Just…checking out my dad's handy work."

"So you're the infamous Victoria Lodge I've heard so much about today," FP said. He smirked as he drove. Jughead smiled and stared straight ahead while CJ looked embarrassed and turned his head the way of his window.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones." Victoria tried to readjust between the two boys, but gave up after a moment. "So, you said you were at the junkyard?"

"Oh. Yeah. Finding parts for my motorcycle," CJ said.

"Motorcycle?"

"Since my truck was repossessed I took back the money I'd been giving my mom and bought a fixer-upper so I could customize it. She hates it, which thrills me."

"CJ, you really should give your mom a break," FP said.

"Hey! She was all kinds of conniving. You're supposed to be on my side, man." FP shrugged. "Anyway, Jug and FP are helping me fix it."

"Oh."

"Did you like the truck better?"

"Why does that matter?" he shrugged.

"Have you ever been on a motorcycle?"

"No."

"Will you let me take you on a ride?" There was silence for a moment.

"I forgot how awkward it was being a third wheel. How 'bout you, Jug?" FP said with a laugh. CJ rolled his eyes.

"I'll think about it," Victoria finally said.

* * *

"There you are! I wondered where you went!" Veronica said when Victoria came through the pool room door with CJ and Jughead in tow.

"I took a walk. Then I got lost and these two found me."

"Alright! Get changed, guys! Betty and Archie are already here! There's food. We've got music going. Cheryl and Toni are on their way." Victoria nodded. The boys split from her to head toward the male changing room while Victoria jogged out of the room and to the elevator.

She hummed softly to the music playing in the elevator as she took it to the penthouse and paused to step out onto her floor. It was only the Lodge's apartment on the top floor and she could hear male laughter already inside. Victoria fought the urge to turn around and walk away, knowing that her sister and friends were waiting for her downstairs. The last thing she wanted to see, however, was her father's legal team.

"Woman up," she whispered to herself. After taking a deep breath, she stepped through the door and marched through the apartment.

"Victoria!" Her father called, "you remember Gio, don't you?" She turned her head, recognizing the old man. He was quite possibly the only honorable member of the legal team and that wasn't saying much.

"Yes. Hello, Gio. Sorry I can't stay. I'm changing and heading down to the party."

"Of course. Nice to see you again, Victoria." Tori nodded and disappeared into her room, thankful that he was the only person she had to see. Perhaps if she changed clothes fast enough, she could get out of there before the others arrived.

After changing into a swimsuit labeled "Unique Vintage Navy Pin Dot Corinne One-Piece Halter Sheath Swimsuit" when she bought it, Victoria pulled on a sheer white cover up and strode back through the apartment. Her father and Gio were still the only two in sight as she left and traveled back down to the pool room.

"Hello, Victoria!" Cheryl called as she entered the room. Cheryl sat on a lounger next to another girl, one that Tori had met earlier in the week. She was good friends with both Cheryl and Jughead and fair friends with the rest of the group. Victoria smiled.

"Hey, Cheryl. Hi Toni. I'm glad you guys made it." Tori set her cover up on the lounger next to Toni. "Aren't you guys gonna swim? There's no need to sunbathe since, ya know…" she smiled and motioned to the ceiling.

"I think we're going to hit the hot tub first." Toni said with a smile. "The boys have a rowdy game of water basketball going in there." Victoria turned to look at the pool then nodded.

"Fair enough." Victoria dove into the deep end of the pool and swam over to where Veronica and Betty were sitting on the side watching the basketball game. "Why are you guys up there and not in the water? Afraid of ruining your hair?" She grinned.

"Funny. No. We're being eye candy right now." Veronica said. Victoria looked to the boys then back to the girls.

"For who? Each other?" Victoria shook her head. "They're not looking at you. Come on. Get in. I'll show you how to be real eye candy in a pool party." Victoria swam off, waited a moment as she watched the boys struggle with each other for the water basketball, and then dove when Archie tossed it for the hoop. She grabbed it just before it made it through the hoop and planted her feet on the bottom of the pool.

"Hey!" Archie pointed. "That counts! I don't care!"

"I think we should play teams," Tori said. The boys looked at each other.

"You're kidding right?" Archie smirked.

"Pardon? Are you afraid you'll be beat by the women, or…?" Victoria rolled the ball from one hand to the other. Veronica and Betty looked at each other, laughed, and then joined their bold teammate. "Ms. Bombshell, Dear Toni? Mind being refs to keep the boys playing fair?"

"Come on! Veronica and Betty don't even know how to play basketball!"

"I do too! I've only seen you do it for seventeen years outside my house!" Betty argued.

"I know a thing or two, Archiekins," Veronica said with an edge to her tone. Victoria looked at each girl as they spoke, then back to the boys. Archie looked at CJ for some help. CJ shook his head and laughed. Archie then looked at Jughead.

"Come on. It'll be fun," Jug urged. Cheryl and Toni sat at opposite sides of the pool. Archie sighed.

"Alright." The teens moved into a game formation, Victoria facing off with Archie for the first tip off.

"You are too uptight, bro. It's just a game. In a pool. It's not like it's for the state championship." Victoria said.

"Ready?" Toni shouted, ready to toss the ball.

"I play to win," Archie said.

"And that mentality will have you lose every time." Toni threw the ball and Tori easily caught it. This move caused Archie to falter and frustrated him, as he moved to block her from tossing it to Betty. She gasped. "Veronica! Your strap!" Archie and the other boys, as expected, turned their attention to Veronica. Tori laughed hysterically and tossed the ball to Betty who scored a basket.

"Talk about cheating!" Jughead said. Betty splashed him.

"You looked! You giant pervert!" the blond shouted.

"I don't even know what she said! She just yelled at Veronica and then I panicked."

"Yeah, right!"

"I see how this is gonna go. I will not fall for it again. You little shyster." Archie said. Victoria laughed again.

"I'm a shyster. Oh my gosh. I love that."

The game went on with fewer tricks, and a fairer fight; although, Veronica might have dunked Archie and Betty might have beamed Jughead in the face with the ball and taken him by surprise. CJ dunked Betty and Archie got Victoria back by hooking her straps and turning her away from the game to steal the ball.

Cheryl and Toni were laughing too hard to call the game and eventually quit with Betty to go get food. Jughead wasn't far behind them. Veronica and Archie secluded themselves in the hot tub and Victoria pulled herself up on the edge of the pool to dangle her feet in the water. CJ swam up beside her and rested his elbows on the pool's edge.

"I love that you're having so much fun," he said. She looked down at him.

"What?"

"I mean, moving couldn't have been easy and having to readjust with your parents and a new school and everything. I haven't seen you smile or laugh this much all week. I like it." She smiled.

"Part of it has to do with how terrible you guys are at water basketball." He rolled his eyes and laughed.

"We're not that bad."

"Just sore losers."

"Do you see me crying?" She shrugged.

"Maybe a tear or two." She patted his head, and then momentarily laced her fingers in the damp curls on his head. CJ scooted closer to her. "CJ…"

"Yeah?" She removed her hand and smiled softly.

"Nothing." He watched her for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay. Wanna get some food?"

"Yeah." She pulled herself up off of the edge, while he climbed out of the pool. Victoria back into a body that wrapped its arms around her. A scruffy cheek pressed against hers. CJ's face looked confused, jealous, and ready to pounce on whoever had enveloped her.

"Hey! Let go of my sister! Creep!" Veronica shouted from the hot tub. Victoria knew the arms holding her. She knew the scent of the cologne coming from the boy who'd had the audacity to show up in her new town, let alone her apartment building, and lay hands on her.

"Let go of me Jerm," she said through her teeth as she shoved his arms away. He let her go and she turned to face, not only him, but Nick St. Clair as well.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here," Archie said, joining Victoria and CJ. Victoria was confused for a moment, but then she realized that he was talking to Nick. Victoria was well aware of what happened while Nick was visiting Veronica in Riverdale last year.

"Nice to see you again too, Andrews," Nick said sarcastically as he checked out Veronica. "Veronica."

"What are you doing…wait. Did you come down here with your dad?" Veronica asked.

"I did. I'm here on business with him. Plus, I mean, why not come see my very best used-to-be and accompany my best bud when he reunites with his girl?"

"She's not his girl anymore," Veronica said. She looked toward Victoria. "Right? You dumped Jeremy because he cheated on you."

"Yes." The six feet, three inch blonde adonis standing with Nick laughed.

"Is that what you're telling everyone?" he asked.

"That's what happened! You might think you can manipulate everyone else, but I'm not that stupid." Victoria retorted.

"Just a little stupid." CJ stepped forward.

"Don't talk to her like that," he snapped. Jeremy sized CJ up.

"Is this your new fuckboy?"

"Jeremy, I swear to God in Heaven that I will drown you in this pool if you don't get the hell out of here right now." Victoria stated. He reached out and coiled a piece of her wet hair around his finger.

"I forgive you for slutting it up on prom night. Just promise me you won't do it again and we can pick up where we left off." Victoria slapped his hand away and hooked her left hand right into his face in what had to be the loudest left hook heard around the world that day. Nick caught Jeremy as he stumbled backward while CJ and Veronica grabbed hold of Victoria. "Bitch!"

"Let me go!" Victoria fought against the people restraining her and Nick smiled devilishly at the whole scene. Toni and Jughead got between the two parties.

"Get out of here!" Jughead shouted sternly. Nick pulled Jeremy along, but not before the blond boy tossed a mocking laugh and smile at Victoria. After a moment, the two of them were gone and all eyes fell to Victoria who was visibly shaken and literally shaking. CJ held onto her, and she quit fighting against him.

"Who was that?" Cheryl asked.

"Her ex-loser," Veronica said. She smoothed Victoria's hair. "Are you okay?" Tori stared at the door to the pool room.

"Please, let go of me, CJ." She asked softly. She was finally released and shook her head. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry." Victoria broke into tears and disappeared into the girls changing room, locking the door behind her. Everyone looked at Veronica.

"What happened?" Betty asked.

"She never told me in detail what happened between her and Jeremy. She only said that she dumped him because he cheated on her."

"I believe it. Especially if he's friends with Nick St. Sicko," Cheryl said.

"I just wish she would tell me the whole story. Clearly, something else happened." Archie put his arm around Veronica's shoulders.

"She will. You have to give her time."


	12. The Last Day Alive

****~~! TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF RAPE/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE !~~***

"You let him in here! You let them all in here!" Victoria shouted at her father in a raspy tone. Tears rolled down her cheeks in constant streams as she stood in an opposing stance from the man in the penthouse living room that Saturday evening. Veronica and Hermione stood at east and west positions of the father daughter duo as the scene continued to happen. Hiram, always having a cool exterior and a sense of superiority over everyone, stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Robert is my attorney. Why wouldn't I let him in? David is my biggest investor. Of course I will have them both in, personal feelings aside. It was all business today, Victoria." Hiram said.

"What is going on, exactly? Why are you so upset that Jeremy was here, Nena?" Hermione asked, placing her hand lightly on Victoria's shoulder. Hiram shook his head.

"She's still upset about their relationship failing is all. It's okay, Nenita. We will find you someone better suited." Victoria let out a shriek and lunged at her father. He grabbed her forearms to stop her from hitting him, while Veronica was quick to grab hold of her waist.

"Victoria!" Hermione shouted.

"They raped me!" Victoria shouted, trying to free her arms from her father's grasp. She sniffled and tried to regain steady breathing through her sobbing. "And you know it. I came to you!" Tori closed her eyes and shook her head. "You didn't do anything."

"Daddy? What's she talking about? Tori, who raped you?" Veronica asked, tears in her eyes from the overwhelming emotion spilling from her sister and the unfathomable confession. Hermione looked as though someone had just stabbed her in the heart.

"Jeremy!" Victoria was able to take Hiram by surprise and slam her fists into his chest, but he was quick to grab a firmer hold and keep her at an arm's length in recovery. "He drugged me," Victoria said in a quieter tone. She sniffled and stared her father straight in the face. "He raped me. He let Nick rape me." Veronica gasped.

"What?!"

"That's where Nick learned his trick," Victoria said with an anguished chuckle. "I told Daddy what they did." She yanked her arms free from his hold. "He did nothing, because doing something would keep him in jail longer. Doing something would jeopardize him. Doing something would mean too much to me!"

"Victoria, you should have come to me," Hermione started. Victoria turned to her mother, and her look was something of a dejected yet sinister expression.

"Why? What would you have done? Nothing. Neither of you took care of Nick St. Clair when you heard what he _tried_ to do to Veronica! He would have never tried in the first place if you would have done something when _I_ spoke up! A car accident and a slight limp?!" She shoved her mother aside and started toward the hallway. "I had my virginity taken by an entitled asshole who couldn't take no for an answer! Then he let his friend have a go just to lose his virginity!" She paused to turn around and face her family. "And while you're here in Riverdale building a new life, Daddy's telling me he'll fix everything. I can finish school. Everything is fine, but I'm being slut shamed by those boys and they're just boys being boys! You're the worst father ever!"

Veronica sobbed quietly as she listened to her sister rant. Hermione stoically wiped a lone tear from her face and Hiram stepped toward Victoria.

"Victoria, I assure you, they will be dealt with," he said.

"Don't lie to me!" she pointed an accusing finger at him. "I could have wound up pregnant by one of them, and then what would you have had me do? Keep the baby?" Hiram was silent. "I loved Jeremy, and he betrayed me. You're my father. Love is supposed to be unconditional from you, but you only love me when it's convenient for you."

"That's not true."

"I will never forgive you for this. You victimized me all over again, Daddy." She wiped her cheeks and silently left the room.

* * *

Victoria sat in her bathtub until the water was cold after her heated blowout with her family. The hot water wasn't enough to relax her. She'd heard her mother and father arguing. She thought she heard Veronica crying and then talking, but not in the vicinity of her parents, which meant she was probably crying to Archie. Would her sister tell her story just like that? It had taken her so long to say it to anyone but her father, but after seeing Jeremy and Nick again, it needed to be told.

A knock at her bathroom door made her turn her head. "Tori?" her sister called softly.

"I can't right now, Veronica." Tori pulled her knees against her torso in the lukewarm water.

"You shouldn't stay here, tonight." That was a confusing statement. Was she being thrown out of the apartment? If that was the case, then her father needed to be the one to come say it to her.

"What?"

"Can I come in?" Victoria sighed.

"Yeah." Veronica came into the bathroom and sat down beside the tub. "What do you mean I shouldn't stay here?"

"I mean it's toxic for you to be here right now. I think you should stay at Betty's. I already talked to her." Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but Veronica stopped her. "I didn't tell her the whole story, but just that you had a fight with Daddy over Jeremy and you're not in a good place here. Mrs. Cooper said it was okay."

"I don't belong here, at all." Victoria shivered slightly and let the water out of the tub. Veronica stood up and got Victoria's robe for her.

"You belong here with me. We've always known our family was different and that we handled things in different ways. I don't agree with what Daddy has done. I want to kill Jeremy and Nick myself." Victoria got out of the tub and pulled her robe on, sobbing softly as she did so.

"I'm so sorry Veronica."

"For what?"

"For what Nick did. I should have told you." Veronica hugged her sister.

"Shh. Stop. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault." The two embraced for a moment before they moved into Tori's room to prepare for her stay at the Cooper house.


	13. Yours

What is it like to go through the motions of every day with only a shred of emotion pulsing through you? A guard is put up, things are no longer interesting. Colors aren't even as bright as they once were. Friends speak, but words are lost. A home isn't a home anymore. It's a living hell all over again.

Victoria had been, for the lack of a better word, a zombie since she'd temporarily moved into the guest room at the Cooper house. Alice wasn't thrilled about the arrangement but her kids had teamed up against her and, well, at this point she could say she was being a better parent than either of the Lodges. However, Victoria did enough to stay out of the woman's way and try to stay gone until she had to be home with Betty and CJ. She stayed in the guest room unless she was summoned for dinner. She participated in small talk, but hardly made eye contact. CJ's flirtatious advances in private fell short and Betty's attempts to cheer her up were appreciated but wasted on her.

"Where's Betty, Victoria?" Alice asked, coming through the living room that afternoon. Victoria looked up from her textbook. The brunette had to think for a moment.

"Oh. The Vixens are having an emergency practice today. Cheryl was pretty adamant on practicing harder for the upcoming Homecoming game." Alice nodded.

"You didn't want to join the Vixens?"

"I was a cheerleader in New York. I'm pretty over that scene."

"Have you joined any extra-curriculars yet?" Victoria shrugged.

"Not yet. I'm trying to think of what I want to do." Alice sat down beside her. "There's not really a chorus or anything, but I heard there was an awesome drama club." The older woman's face seemed to light up.

"You like acting?"

"Performance arts, whether it be acting or singing on stage, yes."

"Then do it! Find Kevin Keller. Last year, he wrote and directed Carrie, but he turned it into a musical." Victoria smiled half-heartedly.

"I'll remember that." Alice patted her leg. "Thanks again for letting me stay here."

"Victoria, I know you're going through a rough patch with your parents, but maybe you should go try to talk to them." The teen nodded. "Good. Now, it's Thursday afternoon and my kids are not home. Including you. Get out and find something to do, but be back by dark. Deal?" Alice smiled and hopped up off of the couch. Victoria closed her textbook.

"Deal." She pulled herself from the sofa and headed for the front door. Alice was trying to be proactive in her healing process, for which she genuinely was thankful, but what was she going to find to do?

Victoria walked out the front door and spied a man in the driveway next door getting out of his truck. He bore a resemblance to someone, but she couldn't place it right away. She walked down the stairs and toward the driveway, but paused when he turned to look at her. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," they were both silent for a moment and Victoria heard music and looked around. The man chuckled.

"It's my son and his friend. They're in the garage with their instruments." Victoria smiled.

"Oh. So, you're Mr. Andrews." She held out her hand.

"And you must be Victoria Lodge." He shook her hand and shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Archie told me you were going to teach him to play the piano," Fred smiled, "good luck."

"What's that mean? He won't be good?"

"I just mean he might be stubborn if he doesn't pick it up right away. That's something he inherited from his mother." She laughed.

"Oh, I see." He nodded the way of the garage.

"You can go back if you want. It's supposed to be sound proof, but they must have the door open." She nodded and waved.

"Okay. Thanks. See ya later, Mr. Andrews." Victoria walked the way of the garage between the Andrews and Cooper houses and Fred Andrews disappeared into the front of the house. As she neared the garage, she indeed saw the side door was open and heard two acoustic guitars playing. She stepped into the doorway to see Archie and CJ turned slightly away from her, fully engrossed in a song.

" _Who wrote the book on goodbye?"_ Cj sang lead on what sounded like a chorus and Archie sang the melody behind him. _"There's never been a way to make this easy. When there's nothing quite wrong but it don't feel right. Either your head or your heart, you set the other on fire…"_ CJ stopped. "Yeah, hold on." he wrote in the notebook that sat on the table in front of them. Archie sensed another presence and turned his head the way of the door. Victoria waved.

"Hey," he smiled. CJ turned his head to look at her.

"Hey. Sorry. Your dad said I could come back…" she explained.

"No, it's cool. Come in!" He stood up and waved her in.

"Are you guys writing a song?" She sat on the sofa between them.

"CJ is. I'm just helping." She smiled softly.

"You didn't say you did anything other than play the drums," she said to CJ. He shrugged.

"We never got a chance to talk about it." Victoria was silent for a minute then her eyes searched the room, finding a keyboard in the corner.

"Archie, when did you want to work on the song you wrote?" Archie looked at CJ, who shrugged.

"Do you want to work on it some right now?" Archie asked her, standing up again.

"Are you sure? I don't want to take you away from CJ."

"Ugh, take him away." CJ said with a smirk. Archie shook his head.

"I have a keyboard we can use over here." He moved toward the instrument and pulled a stool out for her.

"Do you have music written for it?" she asked, turning the keyboard on.

"Uh…some, but it's written for the guitar, because that's what I wrote it on. Can I just play it for you and you kind of…transfer it?"

"So you want me to learn it by ear, and then teach you to play it?" She laughed. Archie looked at her and then smiled.

"Too much to ask?"

"I'm up for the challenge." She motioned toward the guitar. "But play it for me first and let's hear what you have. I mean the whole thing, lyrics and all."

"Alright." Archie tossed a glance back at CJ who smiled and sat back on the couch to listen, seemingly proud of his best bud. " _I was a boat stuck in a bottle. That never got the chance to touch the sea. Just forgot on the shelf; no wind in the sails; oging no where with no one but me. I was one in one-hundred billion; A burned out star in a galaxy. Just lost in the sky wondering why everyone else shines out but me."_ Victoria crossed one leg over the other and watched Archie intently. " _But I came to life when I first kissed you. The best me has his arms around you. You make me better than I was before. Thank God I'm yours."_

She had to smile at what sounded like the chorus of the lovely song this boy had written for her sister. She fought back the tears the gesture threatened to draw from her. " _I was a worn out set of shoes, wandering the city street; another face in the crowd, head looking down lost in the sound of a lonely melody. Empty pockets at a roulette, always landing on a lost bet. Just live for the spin and hope for the win. Go all in just to lose again."_ CJ started strumming with Archie at that point, but the redhead never faltered.

" _But I came to life when I first kissed you. The best me has his arms around you, you make me better than I was before. Thank God I'm yours. The worst me is just a long gone memory…"_ he kept strumming with CJ, but looked at Victoria.

"What? Why'd you stop?"

"This is the part where I couldn't figure out the ending lyrics."

"You want to learn an unfinished song?"

"Okay," he stopped and motioned for CJ to stop. "Honestly, I walked by the music room last week and heard you playing and singing. I thought maybe you could help me finish it while you were teaching me."

"You poured your heart out into this much of the lyrics and can't find a few more words?"

"I don't think she's up for helping you, Arch," CJ said. Victoria looked at him.

"It's not that. It's just…the song is so beautiful acoustically. It will never sound or come across the way it does when you deliver it with your guitar, Archie. Just now when you were playing, it was…" she shook her head, "I can't even explain it. I've worked with a lot of musicians and performers and you're so gifted and if that's the way that song came out of you, then that's the way it was meant to be." Archie nodded slowly. "Do you know what I mean?"

"I think I do."

"I can try to help you with the last few lines, but musically, I wouldn't change it. Veronica will love it either way and I'll teach you with the piano if that's what you want, but honestly, it could be a real demo with that guitar." He laughed.

"I wouldn't go that far." She shrugged. "But yeah, if you and CJ could maybe help with the last few lines. I've been stuck on it for a while."

"Of course. Come on," she motioned him back over to the sofa to rejoin CJ. "Alright boys, play that chorus again for me." The boys counted each other off and played the chorus again and Archie sang the words for her up until he didn't have them. They continued to play until she told them again. This went on for a long time until Victoria was picking up the words with Archie and singing with him. "I got it," she started clapping the beat with them while he continued singing. "You only need one line and then you can repeat the end of the chorus. Let's go again."

"Oh boy," CJ said with a laugh. She rolled her eyes at him and elbowed him softly in the ribs before continuing to clap the rhythm of the song.

" _I came to life when I first kissed you. The best me has his arms around you. You make me better than I was before. Thank God I'm yours. The worst me is just a long gone memory. You put a new heartbeat inside of me. You make me better than I was before. Thank God I'm yours."_ She ended with a vocal run of the lyrics and Archie paused.

"Wait, what was the line you said?"

"You put a new heartbeat inside of me. Everything else was what you wrote. It's a very small change but it made it work, right?"

"Victoria!" he shouted before moving his guitar and tackling both her and CJ in a hug on the sofa.

"Ow! Jeez, Arch! I'm gonna have a permanent guitar imprint on my chest now." CJ said, waving his friend away. Victoria laughed and patted Archie's back.

"Hey, kids," Fred said from the doorway. Archie looked up at his dad. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"What's up?" Archie asked.

"I ordered pizza. You guys want?"

"That'll be a yes from me, Mr. Andrews." CJ said. Archie laughed and stood up straight.

"We'll be there in a sec, Dad." Fred walked away and Archie moved around the sofa toward the door. "I'm starving. Come on guys." CJ put his guitar down and stood up, offering his hands to Victoria. She grabbed them and he pulled her up.

"Look, he's gonna take all the breadsticks. He does it every time." CJ said, leading her out of the garage. "But, Jughead isn't here, so we stand a chance at the pepperoni."

"CJ," Victoria said, lingering on the elevated doorway of the garage's side door. CJ stopped and turned when he felt her tug on his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I haven't been a very good friend this week." His brows furrowed in confusion. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, it's just," he held up his hand.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I know you're going through it. I told you I was here for you. I still am. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled. "Even if you need to not talk to me." She rested her hands on his shoulders and guided him closer, leaning toward him since she was at his height.

"CJ," she said softly.

"Mmhmm?"

"Can I kiss you?" CJ nodded gently and leaned into the kiss he was accepting from Victoria.

For a moment, she was unsure of herself. Her relationship with Jeremy had always been so rushed, so hard. He'd always kissed her as if he had to or as if she owed it to him to please him to do so. CJ seemed a bit shy to kiss her, but he _wanted_ to. She could tell.

"Awwwww!" she heard from somewhere in the distance. CJ reluctantly pulled away from her and turned his head to see Archie in the screen door of the back patio. CJ laughed and looked at Victoria. She gave him a short, quick kiss and let go of him.

"Let's not keep him waiting," she said.

"Alright, but he's gonna catch hell for ruining the best moment ever." Victoria smiled and grabbed CJ's hand before letting him lead her inside the Andrews house.

* * *

 **Soundtrack:** "The Other" – Lauv / "Yours" – Russell Dickerson


End file.
